Want to know how to clean an oven with baking soda? So did I because I didn’t have a self-cleaning oven and didn’t want to use harsh oven cleaners either. Thankfully, cleaning an oven with baking soda is easy and effective!
Since I’m not a huge fan of commercial oven cleaners, I loved skipping the harsh chemicals and using natural ingredients. It’s perfect for stubborn stains and is something that you can use on a regular basis. Skip out on the chemical oven cleaners and get better results with a natural alternative.
We don’t have a self-cleaning oven, nor do we have any oven cleaner on-hand but our oven needed to be cleaned. Badly.
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I didn’t know how to clean an oven without chemicals and didn’t really want to use chemicals anyway, as I have small children in my home, and I value my own health too.
So, I needed a natural way to clean my oven, and a way that actually worked as oven was nasty, as evidenced below (sorry to gross you out):
I did some searching on Pinterest and found out that baking soda could clean your oven! I had plenty of baking soda on hand, so I figured, why not? Why not see if baking soda could actually clean ovens and I could avoid using chemicals altogether.
How to Clean Oven with Baking Soda
After reading a few tutorials, I came up with my plan of attack to clean the oven with baking soda. Below is the tutorial for cleaning oven with baking soda. I have used it many times over the year since writing this post initially. It totally works.
Materials Need to Clean Oven with Baking Soda
- Spray Bottle
- Water
- Baking Soda
- Green Scour Pad
- Sponge or Paper Towel
- Flathead screwdriver or razor blade scraper (optional)
Instructions for Cleaning Oven with Baking Soda
1). Remove and discard any visible debris and burnt on remnants you can with a washcloth.
2.) Remove the oven racks and clean your oven racks separately.
3.) Spray the interior of the oven generously with water in a spray bottle.
4.) Liberally cover the surface of the oven with baking soda like so:
5.) Let the baking soda sit for 15 minutes to overnight. If you leave it for longer periods of time, come back every few hours and spray more water on the baking soda. You want the baking soda to be visibly wet, so apply more if it looks too dry. The little brown spots in the baking soda pictured above show that it is working!
6.) Spot test an area and see how well it is wiping up with a sponge or paper towel. If it looks good you can proceed. If not re-wet and recoat with more baking soda and let it sit again.
7.) Use a sponge or paper towel to do most of the initial “gooping” up of the baking soda and water mess.
8.) Use a scouring pad to scrub the harder to clean areas of your oven, working in the baking soda, and gets the sides of your oven clean too. Make sure to rinse away the baking soda from the pad as you continue to work. To make it easier to scrub the inside of the oven (as well as the door) you can remove the oven door first.
9.) If there are any really burnt on areas, don’t be afraid to use some real “elbow grease” and scrape it off using a flathead screwdriver or a razor blade scraper. It’s what I used to remove the black area that remained in the picture below:
10.) After the oven is clean, be sure to wipe it down with a wet washcloth, sponge, or paper towel and remove the remaining baking soda residue from the oven. You will need to repeat this a few time to make sure it is all removed.
And then you are done!
Here’s how clean my oven looked after cleaning oven with baking soda!
Here’s a live video demonstration (with a few extra cleaning tips) that I did for Hometalk.
Here are some additional tips for cleaning ovens with baking soda:
- Some people prefer to make a baking soda and water paste which they apply to the oven instead of the way I did it. You want the mixture thin enough to spread. You can spread with a sponge, your fingers, or a different cloth. (Instructions here.)
- Others like to use baking soda and then spritz vinegar on top for some extra cleaning power. That is fine too. (Like in this post.)
- A few people like to mix baking soda, vinegar, and dish soap into a paste and then clean oven with that mixture (instructions here).
- You don’t have to invest in a heavy-duty oven cleaner! As you can see, you can get clean racks and clean glass oven doors, and clean oven walls with simple common household items.
- Natural products and natural cleaning agents mean that there are no smells or scents the next day! The use of chemicals can cause your entire oven to stink.
- Harmful chemicals really aren’t needed to get the best results. To clean the inside of your oven, make sure that you’re using rubber gloves no matter what type of cleaning method or cleaning paste you’re using.
For more great cleaning tips, be sure to follow my Cleaning Pinterest Board!
For more tips on how to clean just about everything, check out these other popular kitchen cleaning tutorials!
- How to clean oven racks
- How to clean dishwasher with a steam cleaner
- How to clean microwave
- How to clean and deodorize garbage disposal
- How to remove fridge odor and smells
- How to clean stove drip pans
- How to clean globe faucet handles
- How to clean copper bottom pot with vinegar and salt
- How to clean copper pot with ketchup
- How to remove scratches from dinnerware
- How to clean a Le Creuset dutch oven
- How to clean stainless steel pans
- How to clean burnt pot bottoms
Mike Tanner says
Thanks for sharing this Katelyn! I’m such a sucker for before and after pictures! I’m going to try this and take some of my own. I am hoping to get a professional looking result using backing soda and maybe a little vinegar. In the past I just searched oven cleaning solihull or oven cleaner solihull and got someone to come do it, but since I have done some reading around the web and found a number of posts just like this, so I’m looking forward to trying it myself!
Katelyn says
I hope you try it and that it works well for ya! I’ve done it again since I first did it, and it worked well again. I love how I don’t die from fumes.
Bonnye says
It does work well but I have a window and I have baking soda residue in between the window and door. I have a clean oven but baking soda that falls down in between the door everytime I use it.
Absolutsoc says
That’s an interesting point. Maybe use some painters or masking tape to cover those areas as you use this baking soda technique.
Heather says
Fabulous tips!! Pinned!
Chris Green says
You can take the oven door off and it is much easier to reach the back of the oven. You just open the door a little bit and lift up and the door comes of easily.
Katelyn Fagan says
Thank you for the tip! I will have to remember it! It will make the next time much easier on my back.
Karen Miller says
Love this Katelyn — thanks so much for sharing. I wonder now, if you used a spray bottle with Vinegar instead of water if that would help with dissolving the tough stuff ? My stove sure needs a cleanin – maybe i”ll give it a try. Thanks for the great tutorial. Karen
Dawn @ Pin-n-Tell says
That’s amazing! I need to try this. I’m ashamed to say, that I’ve fallen behind in cleaning my oven :/
This is a perfect addition to our Spring Cleaning Party! I’ve repinned!! Thanks for sharing… Sending you PIN love from pin-n-tell.com 🙂
Jenny says
First time I have been on your site and I like what I see
Gael says
I like that you told the truth about it. It wasn’t easy, and for many people, dragging out oven cleaning all those hours isn’t going to work. Did you try heating the oven in the process? You’d have needed a scrubber on a long handle, but heat might have loosened grime. I tried baking soda on an oven and had the same disappointing results. I’m too busy to be tied to oven cleaning for hours. I really love cleaning green, but sometimes there is a place in my world for Comet, Tilex, and a few others. More power to you for hanging in there and finishing that oven with baking soda.
Debbie says
Great tips for natural cleaning! I appreciate it since I have a self-cleaning oven which I don’t like to use the cleaning feature on – it get over 1000 degrees and sometimes can damage itself! Not to mention it smells really bad when it heats up.
Two things though – the screw driver pictured is a flat-head screw driver, not a Phillips. A putty knife would be good too.
And, lastly – almost all oven doors come off – something I didn’t know until someone pointed it out to me. Just pull on it and the hinges come out of a track and it is just as easy to put back on. Just slide the hinges back in. This makes it much easier to clean.
Maureen F Ronolo says
Steel wool pads work on burnt on stains like a champ. Lots of elbow grease, but at least there is a clean surface at the end of it. Not SOS pads with the cleaner in the middle… they shed. But the curly-queue steel pads. Fuller Brush still makes them, but you can find them at the grocery store usually too.
Katelyn Fagan says
I’ll have to pick some of those up! I almost never buy those, but I bet they would do a great job on those burnt on parts.
Lori says
Hi Ms Fagan, I just subscribed to your awesome website tonight, and spent several hours drinking in all your great household\and parenting advice. I know my visits here will be frequent. Also, just a helpful tip, you can remove the oven door easily by lifting up on door while open about six inches. Hope this is helpful to you as your tips have been to me. Thank you!
Katelyn Fagan says
Great! Yes, someone else I think told me that after this post which is SO helpful! I plan on redoing this post with better pictures and the tip on removing the door. That would make things much easier. I’m so glad you subscribed and are loving all the tips! I look forward to seeing more comments from you! Thank you!
Dorene Jasper says
Such a great idea. I’ve tried lots of cleaning solutions but can never clean my oven entirely . I’m definitely trying your idea and recommending it to some friends too. Thank you for sharing!
Becky Sanders says
I buy the big square alminum trays that are for the oven bottom to catch spills. You buy in three’s. I put all three in the bottom of my oven and when the top one becomes soiled I simply remove it and the next tray is ready for spills.
Gordan Ladd says
Yes, baking soda can do wonders! They are not only useful in the kitchen but many other places in the household! Nice post you have here. Will Tweet it!
Adil says
NOw I can perfectly clean my oven in few minutes with baking soda. The best thing about cleaning remedies is that you don’t need to invest extra and you can get your goal with available things like baking soda etc. Keeping sharing such handy posts. Thank you
Patricia says
Can you use the baking soda paste to clean entire oven
Katelyn Fagan says
Yes!
Carolyn says
How can I clean soap scum from a brown bathtub. ?
Linda says
Can I use the same method to clean a gas oven?
Katelyn Fagan says
Yes… but you need to make sure you don’t get baking soda down the openings to the burners below…. I ended up using oven cleaner spray with my gas oven (different home) and that worked well. Not exactly natural, but I was worried about ruining the oven!